CVE-2025-49680
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedImproper link resolution before file access ('link following') in Windows Performance Recorder allows an authorized attacker to deny service locally.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · moderate confidenceWindows Performance Recorder contains a link following (symlink) vulnerability where it improperly resolves file paths before accessing files. An authorized local attacker could exploit this to cause a denial of service by manipulating symbolic links to trigger unintended file operations or resource exhaustion.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data< 10.0.10240.21073< 10.0.14393.8246< 10.0.17763.7558< 10.0.19044.6093< 10.0.19045.6093< 10.0.22621.5624< 10.0.22631.5624< 10.0.26100.4652CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check Windows versionRun 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' to identify the installed Windows version and build number.Affected if The Windows build number falls below any of these thresholds: 10.0.10240.21073 (1507), 10.0.14393.8246 (1607), 10.0.17763.7558 (1809), 10.0.19044.6093 (21h2), 10.0.19045.6093 (22h2), 10.0.22621.5624 (Win11 22h2), 10.0.22631.5624 (Win11 23h2), 10.0.26100.4652 (Win11 24h2).
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Locate Windows Performance RecorderFind wpr.exe by running 'Get-ChildItem -Path $env:ProgramFiles,"$env:ProgramFiles(x86)" -Recurse -Filter wpr.exe -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue' or checking the default path 'C:\Windows\System32\wpr.exe'.Affected if wpr.exe exists on the system, indicating Windows Performance Recorder is installed.
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Check WPR executable versionRight-click wpr.exe, select Properties, then go to the Details tab to view Product Version, or run 'wpr.exe -version' if supported.Affected if The version number is lower than the fixed versions listed for the corresponding Windows release.
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Identify WPR working directoriesRun 'wpr -profiledetalis' or check the Windows Performance Recorder logs in '%LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Performance\Recorder' to identify directories used for tracing output.Affected if Writable directories exist that WPR uses for recording session output files.
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Audit permissions on WPR directoriesRun 'icacls "%LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Performance\Recorder"' and similar paths to check which users have Write or Create Files permissions.Affected if Non-privileged users have Write or Create permissions to directories used by WPR, allowing symlink manipulation.
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Check for suspicious symbolic linksUse 'Get-ChildItem -Path "C:\Users" -Recurse -Filter *.slk -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue' or inspect directories from step 4 for any recently created symbolic link files (.symlink, .lnk with unusual properties).Affected if Unexpected symbolic links or junction points exist in WPR directories or their parent paths.
A system is affected if it runs a Windows version below the specified build thresholds AND has Windows Performance Recorder installed with writable directories accessible to local attackers who could place malicious symlinks.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
dbcve · scoped10.0.10240.2107310.0.14393.824610.0.17763.7558
Apply Microsoft security updates for Windows Performance Recorder when available. Until then, restrict write access to directories used by Windows Performance Recorder and monitor for suspicious symbolic link creation.
Update to Windows 10 build 19045.6093 (22h2), 19044.6093 (21h2), 17763.7558 (1809), 14393.8246 (1607), or 10240.21073 (1507); Windows 11 22h2 build 22621.5624, 23h2 build 22631.5624, or 24h2 build 26100.4652
- Open Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update
- Click 'Check for updates' to download and install the latest security updates
- After updates are installed, restart the computer if prompted
- Verify the update was installed by checking Windows Update history for the KB patch containing this CVE fix
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,560.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-49680 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-49680 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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